Chapter 294: Fall Apart
If Derek were ever asked to list things that he appreciated about his mother.Then in that list he would be certain to include her ability to keep focused on a goal. Never losing sight of it. Even when things were going wrong with a quickness.
That would have left even the most level-headed of people clutching at straws. A prime example of that was happening right that very moment. Derek, his eyes half opened, was watching his mother move around the penthouse. "You are in no state to go to work today,"
"I will go into headquarters to cause a bit of a stir, masking your absence with my presence. I will simply tell everyone that you are working from home today and do not wish to be bothered. Take this time to gather yourself. This cannot happen again Derek," He nodded on instinct, and instantly regretted it.
His brain felt as though it had moved to the front of his skull with the action. And when he straightened, it settled back in, nearly splitting his head in two as a result. As his mother continued to map a way forward, Derek buried his head in his hands, and suppressed a groan. Not everything from the day before was very clear. But he was pretty sure that he had actually cried. His mother holding him through it. How embarrassing.
But the embarrassment was something that Derek could push back. He had something that required his urgent attention, and that something was the hangover that he was currently battling. His mother trying to cram information into his head was certainly not helping matters.
But to raise his head and tell her to stop, would have taken too much effort. So Derek just continued to sit as he was.
His mother pacing in front of him, dressed from head to toe in new clothes that she’d had delivered directly to his doorstep. "Showing up at Haven Group in the evening gown I wore yesterday would raise a lot of questions," She’d said.
Which was a good justification, but it did not excuse the ten other outfits that his mother had bought as well. But that was not Derek’s problem. His problem was that his mother was still talking and his head felt as though he were being hit with a baseball bat, with each breath he took.
He really needed his mother gone so that he could deal with it.